Your Floors Can Affect Your Indoor Air Quality
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the air quality within our homes and offices is more polluted than the air outside.
Did you know that we spend an average of 90% of our time indoors? And even though summer (with pool parties, barbeques, and outdoor festivals) is fast approaching, we’ll still spend the majority of our time inside.
So, what’s making our indoor air so polluted?
- Combustion Pollutants: the gasses and particles that result from burning materials in space heaters, woodstoves, gas stoves, water heaters, dryers, and fireplaces. When these appliances are properly vented, pollution levels can be significantly lower, but most homes, particularly older homes, don’t have adequate ventilation.
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): these are found in household products like paint, varnish, cleaning supplies, building materials, furnishings, carpets, and a million other things found in an average home.
- Asthma and Allergy Triggers: things that make us sneeze like mold, dust, mites, pollen, secondhand smoke, and pet dander. All of these things can linger in textiles, carpets, pillows, and blankets.
What can you do to improve the indoor air quality of your home?
There are a number of simple things you can do to make sure your home is full of fresh air:
- Open your windows now and then; even a few minutes each day can be beneficial
- Clean and change the filters in your heater or furnace, air conditioner, air purifier, and vacuum on a regular basis
- Avoid synthetic air fresheners
- Decorate with live plants
- Groom your pets regularly
- Use eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaners
The flooring you choose, and how you take care of it, can have a big impact on your indoor air quality. When you’re ready for new floors in your home, choose low pile carpet, hardwoods, or ceramic tile (ceramic tile doesn’t emit any VOCs and can be installed with low-VOC adhesives). In addition:
- Buy a good vacuum with strong suction, rotating brushes, and a HEPA filter, which traps small particles and allergens that regular vacuums don’t
- Vacuum often, at least once a week
- Change your vacuum filter often
- Use a microfiber dust mop
When you’re ready to take charge of your indoor air quality, we can help. Our experienced team will help you find beautiful flooring for your home or office that fits your needs, style, and budget. Give us a call today.
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